I am a licensed clinical social worker who just happens to adore the written word. I have had a private practice and am now writing a memoir on my life in the company of my father and many of my clients who have been diagnosed with bipolar disorder. I hope to dispel some myths and break down some barriers for those with mental illness.
I write out of need and complete joy, which I hope to convey throughout my blogs. The human experience is not exclusive to one group. I hope to appeal to most as I touch on some pretty heady material with some self-deprecating humor and raw emotion thrown in for good measure.
I have four amazing children, one HUGE dog and a tolerant husband. I am blessed.

The human experience in all its glory….

All posts tagged: anecdote

Are you familiar with those lovely Christmas or holiday card attachments that give a year's worth of perfection to you right in your own two hands? Maybe you write them yourself. I always wanted to write one, only I'd put in the unfortunate parts as well. Take a look at this fictitional family's Christmas tidings!

MIRROR, MIRROR ON WALL, WHO’S THE MOST AWESOME ME OF ALL? Narcissism: nahr-suh-siz-em, -n 1. Inordinate fascination with oneself; excessive self-love; vanity. Synonyms: self-centeredness, smugness, egocentrism. (dictionary.com) A dedication in the book Trapped In The Mirror: Adult Children of Narcissists in Their Struggle for Self by Elan Golomb, Ph.D. (1992), goes as follows: “To my mother, whose last words before an unexpected death were, ‘I have to learn to assert myself.'” The dedication first gave me a […]

“Feel the fear, then do it anyway”. I love it. It sounds so darn simple, it might just work! I thought this for a good split second. And if it were to work, it would be the most perfect idea I’d ever come across when it comes to handling anxiety. Unfortunately, it’s way too simplistic for those of us who’s anticipatory fear is severe and debilitating. It’s almost like telling a coma patient to “just snap out of it and join us for […]

♦ Twinkle twinkle life is hard; you don’t get to choose your hand of cards. Up above in the heavens and in the spaces down below, people are hurting and dying just to know Why no one cares or no one who does shows integrity and grit, only greed and shameless souls. ♦ You see there, I have taken a tired, old nursery rhyme full of fun and wonder and made it work for me. Because I’m […]

To wake up and immediately go for the salt and vinegar kettle cooked chips on the corian countertop in the kitchen was naturally a bad idea. The message I received from that small gesture of self-destruction was clear however. I was overwhelmed. It would become that kind of day. A day full of fat-fueled bad ideas. A self-pitying, guilt-induced angry “bite me.”- “what are you looking at?!” kind of day. But it wasn’t supposed to […]

“Once upon a time there was a beautiful, smart woman and her handsome, intelligent husband who’d had a sweet little princess, who we’ll call “Joy”(because I want to and it’s my damn story). Life was good. Joy was happy initially, however as she neared her 2nd birthday she seemed bored with her doting mother and indifferent to her father who worked long hours at his job. The mother suggested that they have another baby. After […]

“Fill up your head. Fill up your heart And take your shot. Don’t waste time trying to be Someone you’re not.” ~Dave Matthews If there is anyone or anything that says real to me, it is the Dave Matthews Band. This man can make something profound out of even the most simple of lyrics. He could make “Go to hell” sound like a great idea. Maybe I’m premenstrual, but these people envelop humanity to me. […]

How in the bloody hell do you do it? Do what? Get through days where all you hear about are the media enhanced war stories, suicides, child abuse and neglect atrocities, gun violence on our neighborhood streets, ISIS, Syria beheadings, earthquakes, fires, melting ice caps, Ebola, political deadlock, the 99%… Oh. That. Well, I just have to look at my children. I look into my young son’s deep brown eyes that […]

Don’t close your eyes. This is your life: Are you who you want to be? This is your life: Is it everything you dreamed that it would be? When the world was younger and you had everything to lose. Switchfoot It had a hard-hitting beat. I used to run with it blaring loudly into my earbuds. It has always been one of those songs that has pushed me to think deeply while charging through my pain even harder than I’d […]

Staples commercial circa 2009 It says it all really…I’m sorry, it just does. Meanwhile, I sit in a my counseling office doing Gestalt therapy* on myself. The session goes something like this: Q – Do I wish that a commercial highlighting the idea that summer is over and my four children have to return to brightly lit classrooms with assigned seating and designated computer use didn’t make me giddy with delight? A – Yes. Yes, […]